Effect of gibberellic acid and oxalic acid on colour retention and storage quality of cold stored fruits of ber cv. Gola

Ber (Zizyphus mauritiana Lamk.) fruits are perishable in nature and have poor shelf-life. To extend the shelf-life of ber fruits, different post-harvest treatments, like pre-cooling, hot water treatment (HWT) at 55°C for 10min., HWT (55°C, 10 min.) + 10% oxalic acid for 15 min., GA₃ (30, 60 and 90 ppm) were given to fruits and theireffects were studied on the storage life and quality of cv. Gola fruits under cold storage conditions (5 ± 1°C and85 ± 5% RH). Fruits of uniform size and colour were harvested, from healthy plants and subjected to post harvestdip of different chemicals, before placing in cold storage. The effect of different treatments accessed after 7, 14, 21 and 28 days of storage for physiological loss in weight (PLW), total soluble solids (TSS), marketabilityand palatability rating. The PLW and TSS increased and marketability decreased during storage under eachtreatment. The sensory rating increased up to 7 days under all treatments but subsequently decreased duringstorage. It can be concluded that ber cv. Gola fruits can be stored up to 21 days by post-harvest treatment using GA₃ at 90 ppm with acceptable quality.